UCONN-Maryland post game thread

[Fossil]

—I thought Coach Abe had taken over the Terrapin squad. Maryland didn’t play physical. They played dirty. Sellers especially.
—Paige was brilliant of course. Wish Geno would still limit her minutes.
—Huge improvement in stopping dribble penetration.
—At least three times, a Husky boxed out, got the rebound and had it taken away from them.
—Brady and Edwards on the floor at the same time will be effective eventually. They both need to start hitting perimeter shots.
—Shade was ready to go and did well after DNP on Sunday.
—CD needs to do something to fill up that stat sheet. It isn’t happening yet.
—The bumpy road of a freshman. Q was great Sunday, tonight not so much.
—UConn still seems uncomfortable against full court pressure. I guess the OSU game is still fresh in my head.
—The WNBA may take a less toll on Edwards’ body. No way will she take the beating she gets from the college double teams.

I can’t agree more about the press. Connecticut still looks unsure as to how to beat that just put it in Paige’s hands or KK and dribble through it. Every time they pick up their dribble they get caught. I definitely had flashbacks.

 

[DEpup]

Ice is taking too many long shots. She is not a good long range shooter at this time. I call these shots turnovers.

She has historically in HS been a good shooter. I think they are taking the opinion that she needs to keep taking them and eventually as the game slows down for her they will start going in.

 

[Longtime fan]

I do feel bad about Ines, it doesn't seem likely that she will get any significant minutes this year as KK is solidly getting game time before she does. Maybe she can shine in practice and earn extra minutes. She is quick. I hope she delivers when she does get game time.

Inez will only play if we are way ahead or there are injuries. But she is having a wonderful experience. If playing becomes her focus, she can start for some teams in the Big East.

 

[Longtime fan]

She has historically in HS been a good shooter. I think they are taking the opinion that she needs to keep taking them and eventually as the game slows down for her they will start going in.

Making that shot could give her a boost of confidence. One of her strengths is the ability to score low and high. That makes her a force.

 

[jaydee602]

The second leading scorer for UConn yesterday only had 12 points.

UCONN had 3 other players score in double digits & the team scored 80 points.
Iowa had one other player score in double digits & the team scored 57 points.

 

[Longtime fan]

Not much being said about Ice but I thought her game was 100% improved. She mixed it up under the basket and came down with a couple of rebounds in heavy traffic, while in previous games she seemed to avoid the tussle of rebounding. She could be the force Geno is looking for from her if she keeps it up.

Your observation is 100% correct. And I think Ice was at about 25% of what she can be. In other words, she can be dominating. Particularly with Edwards, and Paige on the court.

 

[jaydee602]

What does that have to do with her talent? Nothing. Try to figure out the difference between team talent, coaching and individual ability. Silly discussion.

It has nothing to do with her talent. She might be the best player in WBB & she is an ambassador for women's basketball.
But it has a lot to do with Iowa being ranked #2. One superstar does not make a great team!

 

[Steve UConn72]

IMHO MD played over the line physically!
Hands and elbows flying out with hip checks, they played like hockey players not BB players!
Carolyn had ice on her head during the 4th period!
Q except for her shooting played a really good game, lots of hustle!
Geno has to find more minutes for Ines and Amari especially if injuries begin to mount up!
If we can play defense like we did vs MD we'll be in every game all season!

I was wondering if I was the only one who noticed that shot of her on the bench with a "baggie" of ice on her forehead. Don't think it was mentioned in the previous 125 posts, although I'm not certain I read them all.

 

[DEpup]

I think this was the most DT-esque that I've seen Paige and I like it. Technical and all.... I do think she needs to make people think twice about the beat them up strategy.... I think the off guard point is her true position like DT and I think owning that role will allow her to take her game to an even higher level.

 

[oldude]

I wrestled and coached the sport for over 30 years. That wasn't a wrestling move. Just sayin'.

Oh come on. It wasn’t “Dan Gablesque” but surely it was a pretty good one arm shoulder throw for WBB…..

 

[Cornell Lt]

That is absolutely totally not true. When they were on the floor together in the second half, the team put the game out of reach by getting east buckets in transition. That three point guard lineup was tremendously effective. Nika moves very well on offense off the ball, which is evident when one is at the game.

Must have watched a different game then I did. They (UConn) got buckets in transition because of Maryland turnovers, had nothing to do with offensive sets, which were disjointed when KK and Nika were on the floor together

 

[Conndog]

I don't think Edwards is an effective inside player. When she gets the ball on the low post, a turnover is more likely than a shot, much less a made shot. She doesn't have quickness of hand or foot and gets flustered very easily. On defense, Edwards offers little in rim protection. She is much better as a second big than as a primary one on that side.

When she was double-teamed, she got bogged down and couldn't escape. Nika made a couple of passes to her that were ill-advised at best where Aaliyah was already tightly covered. Hitting the outside shot opens up inside space. I like the idea of 1-2 Aaliyah/Ice combination where one is up high at free throw line and the other down low. Aaliyah can hit that elbow jumper reliably and I think Ice has that capability too. If KK can show a good outside shot, and Shade is a good shooter, Paige is great, and Caroline has that ability still too even if she hasn't yet really shown it so far, then pressure on the inside via double teams is going to be punished.

The other side of the coin with outside shooting is, however, who is available to get rebounds?

 

[Boreifs]

Must have watched a different game then I did. They (UConn) got buckets in transition because of Maryland turnovers, had nothing to do with offensive sets, which were disjointed when KK and Nika were on the floor together

They have played two games together. What did you expect? Ivory tower anyone

 

[Boreifs]

Must have watched a different game then I did. They (UConn) got buckets in transition because of Maryland turnovers, had nothing to do with offensive sets, which were disjointed when KK and Nika were on the floor together

Also, they scored 80 points without Azzi and one point from Caroline. How disjointed could it have been.

 

[CL82]

she did .... and then flipped the girl over her shoulder
thought is was great - but she deserved the foul they called

Yep. All those things can be true at once.

One can argue that it wouldn't of happened if the refs had not allowed so much "physicality", but she needs to keep her cool. Reacting to it will just encourage more people to see if they can get in her head.

 

[CL82]

I don't think Edwards is an effective inside player. When she gets the ball on the low post, a turnover is more likely than a shot, much less a made shot

 

[CL82]

Oh come on. It wasn’t “Dan Gablesque” but surely it was a pretty good one arm shoulder throw for WBB…..

More Judo - Seoi Nagi.

 

[Gordo]

One can argue that it wouldn't of happened if the refs had not allowed so much "physicality", but she needs to keep her cool. Reacting to it will just encourage more people to see if they can get in her head.

Yes, of course you are correct. However, it was a reaction to first being poked in the eye and having to leave the game for several minutes. Then Sellers committing a foul that wasn't called. So she put Sellers in her place and let others know that she isn't going to be pushed around. I think Paige is generally in perfect control of her emotions, and I'm sure you do as well..

 

[jeff30189]

When Nika and KK were on the floor together it seemed the offense was a little disjointed. Nika seemed a little lost when KK had the ball in her hands.

Paige can play off the ball because she's a scorer and can make her own shot. Nika is ONLY a PG. Plus, for almost all of last season she was THE (singular) PG who brought the ball up and set the offense. It's an adjustment for her this year to be on the floor with another legitimate ball handler and playmaker.

Q except for her shooting played a really good game, lots of hustle!

I think Geno made a comment to the effect of "of the 10 things we need her to do, she does two of them really well", and one of those two things is shoot. If she's not doing that, she'd better improve at the others and fast if she wants more than blowout minutes.

 

[jeff30189]

Geno has said in the past that he puts a huge premium on body language. If she really does look miserable then that does not bode well…..

Do you want her to look happy about it? Ines commented in an interview about back home in Portugal she was considered to be a very good player, but upon arriving at UConn and seeing the quality of D-1 ball here, she had a serious wakeup call (paraphrasing). She can use this year to learn, get 5-star coaching, practice against 3 of the best PGs in the country and re-evaluate her options after that.

 

[Gordo]

I don't think Edwards is an effective inside player. When she gets the ball on the low post, a turnover is more likely than a shot, much less a made shot. She doesn't have quickness of hand or foot and gets flustered very easily. On defense, Edwards offers little in rim protection. She is much better as a second big than as a primary one on that side.

Hmm, your evaluation of Edwards play is astounding. I'm assuming you have not watched many of her games outside of this season? No offense intended, but you couldn't be more incorrect about most of her abilities. She's making a few more mistakes than usual, so I suspect she'll get it together very soon. Regardless, we don't have many (actually any) proven low post options.

 

[LarryLegend]

Do you want her to look happy about it? Ines commented in an interview about back home in Portugal she was considered to be a very good player, but upon arriving at UConn and seeing the quality of D-1 ball here, she had a serious wakeup call (paraphrasing). She can use this year to learn, get 5-star coaching, practice against 3 of the best PGs in the country and re-evaluate her options after that.

Just pointing out what he has said.

 

[HopJim]

I do feel bad about Ines, it doesn't seem likely that she will get any significant minutes this year as KK is solidly getting game time before she does. Maybe she can shine in practice and earn extra minutes. She is quick. I hope she delivers when she does get game time.

Not sure what you are referring to specifically but during one of the time outs the camera focused on the bench. Inês was standing behind the players and she just had a weird look. Didn't seem engaged at all. Don't get me wrong cause I like Inês as a player and how she helped this team last season and I even posted in the off season that I hoped she would have a nice sophomore jump and contribute even more to the team. Looks like I missed out on my prediction. But her look last night took me by surprise...

Ines' situation reminds me a bit of Anna Makurat's. Anna came in to fill a hole in the lineup, did surprisingly well her first year but when Geno turn up his recruiting machine, Anna's time diminished. Both Anna and Ines appear to be quality individuals and the UConn experience is likely to help them in the future. Sometimes your personal success is not just a matter of minutes played.

 

[jazz]

If BB doesn't work out for Paige, then she will have a great career in the WWE. After taking a shot to the jaw, paige let it known she wasn't havin' it. There is only so much Paige is willing to take...

gonna be a fun year.. paige giving some serious 'tude along with Nika's normal 'take no prisoners' mentality .... We might have tag team WWE champions on our team or at least an inner resolve that we aint takin' no crap from nobody..... 'no ambulance...no foul'....

Seriously, I like this group and we will get a lot better as the year goes along...Paige will take over every game by year end.

This year is wide open as far as the rest of the teams are concerned. Just need to make shots because we will have a hard time rebounding in some games.

Saddle up, this year is going to be fun!

 

[CL82]

. I think Paige is generally in perfect control of her emotions, and I'm sure you do as well..

No, it's not instance. It was a very physical game and she was annoyed about being the subject of so much "physicality". I get it. She needs to be aware that responding to it in frustration will only generate more of it. I'm sure she gets that, but in this particular moment she was just fed up.